Has anyone who has one of the 2011 MacBook Pros with a failing GPU gotten the GPU replaced? I saw a few listings on Ebay where they say you can ship them your logic board, and they'll replace the GPU for about $200. It's supposed to permanently fix the video problems and constant crashing. Just wondering if anyone has tried that.
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Any 2011 MBP owners got their GPU replaced?
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Seeing as the GPU is soldered onto the mainboard along with everything else, I highly doubt one can replace just the GPU for $200. That's just too good to be true.
Are you sure it isn't simply a reball/reflow service?
I am going to email them and ask exactly what they do. What is a reball/reflow service? Is that where they take out your GPU and just resolder it in with better solder? I don't think that would work, because I think these GPUs are overheating to the point of damage. Resoldering a damaged GPU won't fix the problem.
Getting a logic board repair from Apple will guarantee a breakdown again after some time, because all Sandy Bridge logic boards with the Radeon GPU have the manufacturing flaw.
The only guaranteed way to repair it is to reball a new GPU into it, using leaded solder, and reapply the thermal paste properly.
Mine succumbed to Radeongate, but I replaced my single 2011 15" with two rMBPs (a 13" and a 15", one for light work and another for heavy work), because the Radeon 6750M is already pretty far behind the GPUs used in the current generation MBPs. Even the GT650M already left the 67x0M cards far behind.
The only guaranteed way to repair it is to reball a new GPU into it, using leaded solder, and reapply the thermal paste properly.
Mine succumbed to Radeongate, but I replaced my single 2011 15" with two rMBPs (a 13" and a 15", one for light work and another for heavy work), because the Radeon 6750M is already pretty far behind the GPUs used in the current generation MBPs. Even the GT650M already left the 67x0M cards far behind.
what a joke pay Apple 200 for doing a job they should bloody do for free. If there are issues with the Gpu (not single user but lots of 2011 MBP users) they should bloody fix it under extended warrenty.
You can find that GPU for $20-$60. $140 is a very low amount of profit for that pain in the ass, but it is possible.
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It's not the solder. Millions of notebooks use lead free solder and don't have GPUs that are ticking time bombs.
The machine has no intake vents, it runs too hot, and the fans run too low most of the time. It will always keep happening, unless you do not use the GPU. The only solution is to not use the GPU. Even $300 piece of junk machines at best buy have basic intake vents. This has nothing, a completely closed bottom, closed side, closed top. Nothing but that terrible tiny space for exhaust all the way at the back.
I remember thinking in 2009 "how do they make a machine with a powerful GPU so thin, without intake vents? They're genius engineers, I guess they know better than I do..." Time has passed, and 2014 and the 820-2915, 820-2914, 820-2850 have proven to me time and time again they really DON'T!!
You can find that GPU for $20-$60. $140 is a very low amount of profit for that pain in the ass, but it is possible.
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It's not the solder. Millions of notebooks use lead free solder and don't have GPUs that are ticking time bombs.
The machine has no intake vents, it runs too hot, and the fans run too low most of the time. It will always keep happening, unless you do not use the GPU. The only solution is to not use the GPU. Even $300 piece of junk machines at best buy have basic intake vents. This has nothing, a completely closed bottom, closed side, closed top. Nothing but that terrible tiny space for exhaust all the way at the back.
I remember thinking in 2009 "how do they make a machine with a powerful GPU so thin, without intake vents? They're genius engineers, I guess they know better than I do..." Time has passed, and 2014 and the 820-2915, 820-2914, 820-2850 have proven to me time and time again they really DON'T!!
They fixed that with the retina MBPs. There's vents at each side of the laptop and also at the hinge.
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I love the Retina for that.
However, it will be about two years before we find out if it works.
Another great thing Apple did with the Retina is discourage the use of a GPU. You must buy the TOP END model to get a GPU - otherwise you get Iris, which is great! Apple cannot be trusted with GPUs. It's like New Yorkers with public restrooms.. they just mess it up.
If the lack of intake vents is the reason for the GPUs failing, then wouldn't all the unibody MBPs from 2008 to 2012 have failing GPUs? But it's only the 2011 models that have the failing GPU.
The 2008 ones were affected by the NVIDIA 8600 fiasco, but because of NVIDIA's fault.
The 2010 ones with the GT330M also had GPU failures.
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I have a 15" rMBP (2.6/16/1TB/750M) and after the Radeongate fiasco that brought my 2011 15" to its knees, I started using gfxcardstatus to always force my GPU into Iris Pro only, unless I'm playing games or using CUDA-accelerated software (which isn't often).
I went for the 750M variant because when Iris-only and Iris+750M models are configured to at least 2.3/16/512, both are priced identically, so the 750M is a freebie.
Hmm, I guess I'm surprised there aren't CPU failures as well, with all that heat unable to escape the inside.
the 2008 A1286 machine has messed up weak GPU. That machine has a weak GPU and a good GPU, the 820-2330 board is the one I believe. It has lots of issues. It flickers every now and then. This machine is a boss so it doesn't fail too bad, and you can always tell it to use the dedicated GPU. This is a very scary laptop for me, an Apple with TWO GPUs, from a company that eight years in cannot perfect the one GPU design on a 15.4" pro machine.
The 820-2523 and 820-2532 are boss boards. They fail on occasion, but not much.
The 820-2850 from 2010, is the biggest pile of horse dung that any company has ever created since the HP DV9000. It is bunk. The worst motherboard I have ever worked on, ever discussed with other repair shops, the worst return rate - for GPU & NON GPU issues alike! I am working with a vendor right now who wants to stop selling us parts for these motherboards because we return so many, and I'm close to not servicing them anymore because I know at best I'm just patching up a turd.
The 820-2915 from 2011 is like an 820-2850 but with issues isolated to the GPU, not every part of the board.
The reason you see less bitching about the 2010 board than the 2011 board, even when the 2010 board fails more often, is because the failure mode differs each time. On the 2011 machine, the failure mode is the same, which gives consumers a common symptom to complain about, and rally around. The 820-2850 from 2010 is far worse than the 820-2915 from 2011. From random death to random non GPU related freezing to unrepairable PCB issues coming out of nowhere to no USB ports to turning off when you set it down on a table(big one), the 2010 is far worse than the 2011. However, the 2011 will be complained about more, and the issue will become more widespread because it is now an isolated issue - image distortion, followed by it eventually not booting.
The 820-3330 from 2012 is too new. Apple puts a timer into these machines to ensure they fail on day 1096, after the three years of Applecare runs out. I swear, it's hilarious how all of these defects seem literally PROGRAMMED to come about full scale right as Applecare is over... beautiful. We have not left this timeframe yet for the 820-3330 board from 2012, but I can't wait - I'm sure it'll suck as badly as every other year, and I'm confident that anyone who does any actual Pro work with their Macbook Pro, or even a little BF2 - will be walking through the door with a f'd up board because there's no ventilation on their high end laptop by mid 2015. I LITERALLY bet my living on it!!
I have yet to see a Retina with a failed GPU, but the retina is also too new to judge in any capacity.
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Just get a fan management app. Increase the fans rpm permanently and the issues will be gone. Ive read several times that apple is conservative on the fans rpm. They say it's due to noise but maybe they are too dumb trying to sacrifice a whole machine for the sake of noise.
The funny thing is that a lot of people also say HEY DONT MESS WITH UR FANS. APPLE HAS THOROUGHLY TESTED THEIR SPEED AND INCREASING IT MIGHT LEAD TO FAN FAILURE. Well better fan failure than machine failure.
The funny thing is that a lot of people also say HEY DONT MESS WITH UR FANS. APPLE HAS THOROUGHLY TESTED THEIR SPEED AND INCREASING IT MIGHT LEAD TO FAN FAILURE. Well better fan failure than machine failure.
Is there any way to gauge when a machine is likely to fail. I have a late2011 model bought in mid 2012 still under applecare for another year. I was thinking of updating it to a new one anyhow for computing power reasons, and selling it off before I learned about this problem. Now I'm not sure what to do.
I have 689 cycles on the battery if that gives any gauge of usage so far.
Those that have had this failure - did you happen to check the battery cycle count ?
I have 689 cycles on the battery if that gives any gauge of usage so far.
Those that have had this failure - did you happen to check the battery cycle count ?
Battery power cycles have no bearing on GPU failure. One could run constantly on battery and plug in the computer when it nears 0% every single day. You could easily rack up 1 to 2 cycles per day that way and be over 700 cycles in about a year. That doesn't mean your GPU would fail.
Yeah I understand all that - it was merely the only metric of usage I can think of!
The 820-3330 from 2012 is too new. Apple puts a timer into these machines to ensure they fail on day 1096, after the three years of Applecare runs out. I swear, it's hilarious how all of these defects seem literally PROGRAMMED to come about full scale right as Applecare is over... beautiful. We have not left this timeframe yet for the 820-3330 board from 2012, but I can't wait - I'm sure it'll suck as badly as every other year, and I'm confident that anyone who does any actual Pro work with their Macbook Pro, or even a little BF2 - will be walking through the door with a f'd up board because there's no ventilation on their high end laptop by mid 2015. I LITERALLY bet my living on it!!
I have yet to see a Retina with a failed GPU, but the retina is also too new to judge in any capacity.
Finally someone that sees the trend I have seen after having MBPs since 2009. My 2012 cMBP with 512MB GT650m died a while back (posted about it too). My usage exacerbated GPU problems as when I am plugged in, I hit the GPU and CPU hard (always above 85C CPU and 75C GPU even with 5000rpm fans) and when I am not plugged in, the GPU is always not used and cool. This transition happens several times a day, adding heating/cooling cycles while stressing the GPU.
At my work, I am not the only one to have had 650m, 6770m, 330m, and older cMBPs fail. Since my work has a contract with Apple I now have a 750m rMBP, which has been fine so far. Our contract expires at the end of our Q2 2016, so it should be interesting to see how many 650m MBPs are still alive then.